Vegetables in cake or breads always seems odd to me. But probably the most well-known vegetable in a cake is the noble carrot. Making this cake simply delicious… Aaaa… the carrot cake.
So in sort, it is pretty much carrots mixed into cake batter. But being so popular, it received its own National day. Impressive.
This cake dates to the medieval times. It’s said that since sweeteners were so expensive, they substituted cake with sweet vegetables. This is where carrots in cake became famous.
What makes Carrot cake so delicious?
Before mixing in the carrots in the cake batter, the cake batter is slightly spiced with some nutmeg and many times cinnamon. Crushed walnuts are added to the batter giving it a little bit of a crunch and making the batter along with the grated carrots much denser.
The icing on this cake is also definitely something special. A traditional cake will have cream cheese frosting. This icing complements the cake as it is not overbearing. Traditionally this cake has plenty of raisins in. However, In my recipe I did not include raisins (No one in my family, except me eats cooked raisins…I will probably never know why. 😂 ) I also add some finely crushed pineapple. This makes the cake super moist, and give it an unique taste.
Let me know how this went, and sent me some pictures, I would love to see your creations. Enjoy!
Carrot Cake recipe
Ingredients
180 ml Vegetable oil
3 eggs
200g lightly packed brown sugar
100g White sugar
5 ml Vanilla essence
300g All-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup crushed tin pineapples, drained (Optional)
2 cups loosely packed & grated carrots
100g Walnuts, crushed (Optional)
Method
Preheat your oven to 180ËšC. Grease two 9 inch round cake pans.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, sugars and vanilla essence until just combined.
In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Stir in the grated carrot. Make sure the carrots as well coated with the flour mixture. This will allow your carrots to mix in evenly throughout the batter. Now add this mixture to your wet mixture, stir. Make sure this is evenly blended.
Now add the crushed pineapple and walnut pieces. Stir to combine.
Now divide the mixture between the two prepared cake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes. Or until a tester inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the cake tins for at least 20 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Let them cool completely before icing them.
How to create Carrot Cake Muffins
You can make carrot cupcakes instead, grease your 12 – 24 hole muffin tins and fill them 1/3 with the batter. Reduce the baking time to about 10-12 minutes. Checking if they are done before removing them from the oven.
Cream cheese frosting
Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients
226g package of plain, smooth cream cheese at room temperature(Brick style, not spreadable)
½ cup butter, at room temperature
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla essence
4 cups powdered sugar
Method
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth, add in the cream cheese and vanilla essence and mix until light and fluffy. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar.
